Shadow Scholar Syndicate: WM 2018--Day Three Recap

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All of the calories and none of the intoxication!

This dog don’t bite ; )

Day 3: Recap

Record—

Spread: 3-5

Straight up: 4-3-1

Hot Girl Standings

Country	Tally	Games Played
Spain	10	1
Argentina	9	1
Russia	9	1
Denmark	8	1
Iceland	7	1
Egypt	7	1
Peru	6	1
Morocco	6	1
Iran	6	1
Croatia	5	1
Australia	5	1
Nigeria	5	1
Portugal	4	1
Uruguay	4	1
France	4	1
Saudi Arabia	2	1

Not the greatest day for an independent oddsmaker. Nothing broke your friendly bookie’s way. No reason to moan. I shall take your money another day…and do it without rants this time. Had my “Angry Croat Dude” moments today, but all that’s behind me.

Ah… “Angry Croat Dude”. So nice to see you back in these pages again ; )

S.S.S. Tactical Breakdown

Apologies to those you woke up early to see the French, only to have them directly put you back to sleep. Though your friendly bookie augured a slow start for Messi & Co., even he didn’t expect the degree of torpor that we witnessed.

Two disappointments to cover., Let’s take a closer look.

Lineup—France—PROJECTED (4-3-1-2) (5/30/18)

A. Griezmann Paul Pogba

Kylian Mbappe

Thomas Lemar N’Golo Kante Blaise Matuidi

Benjamin Mendy Djibril Sidibe

Samuel Umtiti Raphael Varane

Hugo Lloris

Lineup—France—ACTUAL (4-3-3) (6/16/18)

Kylian Mbappe

Antoine Griezman Ousmane Dembele

Paul Pogba Corentin Tolisso

L. Hernandez N. Kante B. Pavard

Samuel Umtiti Raphael Varane

Hugo Lloris

A good early result from Deschamps, but we’ll call this a failed experiment. An attack-minded 4-3-3 should have produced significantly better results against such a weak side. It actually looked to me as if they played more of a 4-4-2 at times, Mbappe shifting right to make way for Griezman. That still didn’t yield much of note.

Toilsso certainly deserved a shot following his fine club campaign at Bayern, but he looks all out of sorts on this squad. Lemar will likely inherit his spot in the next match. Matuidi might as well step in for Dembele. His timing was of all afternoon. I spent a good portion of the match thinking what a waste it was to have Pogba so far back, but I suppose his agile crashing of the net, as evidenced by the game winning goal, can prove an asset. He can stay put. Ditto Kante. He’s simply better as a pseudo third centerback.

The fullback selections were nothing more than a trial for young players possessing only a combined 13 caps. Mendy and Sidibe by the knockouts.

A very poor match overall. Les Bleaus were turgid off the transition, displayed almost no rhythm, and could barely maintain possession most of the time. Results are results, but Deschamps will have some serious “splaining” to do if he doesn’t build something more solid next time. He could have built a championship squad using most of the players he left off. A little experimentation in a soft group remains permissible.

The best team still needs to get on the pitch soon….and start gelling as a unit.

Lineup—Argentina—PROJECTED (4-3-3) (6/1/18)

Gonzalo Higuain Sergio Aguero

Lionel Messi

Ever Banega Angel Di Maria

Javier Mascherano

M. Rojo G. Mercado N. Otamendi N. Tagliafico

Nahuel Guzman

Lineup—Argentina—ACTUAL (4-2-3-1) (6/16/18)

Sergio Aguero

Angel Di Maria Lionel Messi Maxi Meza

Lucas Biglia Javier Mascherano

Nicolas Tagliafico Eduardo Salvio

Marcus Rojo Nicolas Otamendi

Willy Cabaellero

Was it a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-2-1? After some debate, I’ve settled on the former. In any event it was just silly. Placing a player like Meza so far up when one knew Messi would draw triple coverage makes no sense. Mascherano doesn’t need a partner in midfield! It throws him off. He kept getting outmuscled as he had no idea where to go. No surprise that Biglia was substituted off early. Tagliafico looked uncomfortable on the left. Otamendi couldn’t find any quality space with such a jammed midfield and a defensive partner he wasn’t used to.

My worst fears are confirmed, right down to the lack of goaltending experience and Messi’s fragile confidence. La Albiceleste don’t have the luxury of taking their sweet ass time to get a plan together. Not in this group. The Icessons just gave everyone else a blueprint for how to shut down this predictable squad: Play a compact offside trap, clearing any cutbacks for Messi immediately.

It says much about this country’s tendency to cannibalize itself that they practically demanded an apology from Messi for his weak penalty. Not good news.

Weighing in on VAR

Did VAR get it right on Risdon’s challenge of Griezman in the 56^th?

I actually don’t think so. He got a toe poke in on the ball first and simply followed through with his slide tackle. A harsh penalty. Ze French were very lucky to escape with a win.

“Riffs of the Day”—Day Three

Reader: I love the World Cup. I can never find time to be depressed!

Vicey: One can always find time to be depressed 67-M. Try harder. I recommend setting absurdly high standards for yourself and then deliberately sabotaging your own chances of success. That generally works. Should that fail, ponder for a moment the fact that the only human antidote to the painful reality of your fleeting and meaningless existence revolves around the primitive self-delusion of an intangibkle monotheistic deity, the existence of which can never be proven.

Er….have I mentioned that Germany plays today?

Reader: Why doesn’t VAR work?

Vicey: Rational analysis of a subjective concept invariably fails. See above.

Reader: How heartbreaking was Bouhaddouz’s own goal?

Vicey: Since you asked, about $75’s worth, depending on the exchange rate.

Reader: Is that Kasper or Peter [Schmeichel] in goal today? Holy Hell!

Vicey: Diggin’ the historical reference, 128-M. Good Old Peter Schmeichel, the legendary Manchester United keeper who captained the “Danish Dynamite” Side to the 1992 European Championship.

Nice.

He never disappointed. The only amazingly cool thing he never did was sire a son named Michael.

Reader: Do you accept Denmo?

Vicey: Fuck the fuck NO, 86-M. This isn’t a “Millenial Sportsbook”. We don’t do fucking I-Phone Payment Apps. We are “Generation X/Y Zennials” and fiercely fucking proud of it! We do not live on our “Me-Me-Me-I-I-I phones.” We shall never surrender to the lurid self-absorbed temptations of “The Snap-my-Face”!

Er…we’re kind of kindred spirits to “Angry Croat Dude”

PayPal is as far as I'm willing to go.

DAY FOUR--PREVIEW

Costa Rica vs. Serbia